Problems "Heat"ing Up

They can't close out games. They cry after losing those games. They blow 24-point leads in the second half. They're 1-9 versus the top five teams in the league. They're shooting 1-for-18 in the final 10 seconds of games within three points. They self-gloss themselves the "Heatles." And those are just the surface problems for the most hated team in sports these days.

Although all of the above issues are cause for concern, there are underlining, root causes to those problems that are the main reason for Miami's struggles.

No. 1: The Roster

There's no depth. The front court is soft, old and injured. Pat Riley got James and Wade together but really dropped the ball putting anything around them. Chris Bosh is a jump-shooting 4 who rarely plays in the paint. Miami doesn't need someone to score from the wing, that's why they have James and Wade.

Celebrating the signings like a championship - bad move.

They need bigs who body and bang opponents. Some protectors and bruisers. Kurt Thomas is the type of guy they needed. He was available and Chicago smartly scooped him up to provide toughness, enforcement and experience to its front court. It's paying off. Erick Dampier is that type to a certain extent, but they only pick him up after Udonis Haslem went down early in the year.

Just a reminder: Miami started the season with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Joel Anthony, Jamaal Magloire, Juwan Howard, Haslem and Bosh as its bigs. It's questionable that Magloire and Howard are still in the league, much less on the same team.You don't have to be Red Auerbach to see this isn't going to get it done throughout the season, and certainly not in the playoffs. Damp has provided some grit inside, he even flagranted Tony Parker during Friday's blowout, but he's no spring chicken and certainly can't carry it by himself inside.

Bosh could be listed as a whole separate problem but I'll include him in this roster section. As mentioned before he shoots nothing but jumpers. He's putting up 15+ shots per game because he needs to get his numbers up so people think he's good. Maybe in Toronto just getting 20 and 10 was good enough but in Miami, with James and Wade, Bosh needs to forget about his stats and jump shooting ways. The only way he will benefit them is to do some dirty work. Unfortunately, that's not his game, never has been, never will be. You don't get the nicknames "Bosh Spice" and "Rupaul of Big Men" by mixing it up inside. He's soft and is holding back LeBron and Wade.

Riley's biggest mistake was giving Bosh a max-contract. Did you know he's getting paid more than Dwyane Wade? That makes me sick. It's not a "Big 3." It's LeBron and Wade dragging Bosh along for the ride and trying to win in spite of him much of the time. Don't be fooled by the All-Star selection and 18 ppg and 8 reb (not that 8 rebounds a game is good for a 6'11" All-Star.) If I'm in the Miami front office, I'm trying to trade Bosh for anything. Actually if I'm in the front office, Bosh isn't on the team in the first place.

Bibby isn't adding what the Heat needed

A couple more signings that made no sense: Mike Miller's $25 million deal. He's not stretching the floor, he's not making plays, and he's been hurt for most of the season. Signing Ilgauskas, as mentioned, was just silly. Why do you need another jump-shooting big? And one who can barely move to boot. Mike Bibby is the newest addition and is just as ludicrous as the others. What is Mike Bibby going to do for you? There's a reason he was traded, bought out of his contract and available after the deadline. How many inconsistent three-point shooters do you need? Miller, Eddie House, James Jones weren't enough, I guess. Better add another "shooter" instead of trying to sure up the middle, not that there was anything available in the post anyway.

What goes unmentioned much of the time is how well Dorell Wright is playing. He's second in the league in three pointers made and is having a breakout year in Golden State, averaging 16, 5 and 3. He was drafted out of high school by Miami in 2004 and after developing for six years, he was sent packing after the signing of James and Bosh. Wright is doing more this year than House, Miller and Bibby combined. Another swing-and-miss by Miami management.

No. 2: The Coach


It's easy to blame the coach. Man, it's easy. But sometimes there's a reason for blaming him. When your team is 5-13 in games decided by 5 or fewer points, a lot of that falls on the coach. When you consistently blow double-digit leads late in games, sometimes by 20+ points, the coach is going to take some blame. When you have an overhauled team, which features three All-Stars, yet you get out of the gate 9-8, the coach has to step up his game.

Spoelstra might not be up to the challenge with this team

Erik Spoelstra seems to be a decent young coach in the NBA. He's done some nice things in turning around Miami over the past few years. I believe he can have a nice career as an NBA coach. But this challenge is too big for him. That become clear again this past week during Miami's losing streak. After Sunday's one-point loss to the Bulls he said there were "players crying in the locker room." I believe it was an effort to illustrate how bad the players "want" to win.

I didn't see the purpose of volunteering that bit of locker room info. And then, to make matters worse, Spoelstra back-tracked on the comments and claimed media "sensationalism" and they took his quote "out of context." He's not helping his cause with these explanations.

The Heat need a coach that can take charge of the team,and to a certain extent, the media. I'm sure James, Wade and Bosh respect him in terms of "he's-the-coach" respect, but they don't really RESPECT him. Because what's he done? He doesn't have the hardware, rings or experience. We've seen this already in Miami. Riley brought in Shaq, the Diesel clashed with Stan Van Gundy, Riley took over, Heat won championship. As Phil Jackson put it months ago, it "looks like a Van Gundy thing again."

In summary, the Heat have some problems and they're not complicated. It's the players and the coach. They don't have the roster to truly compete for a title this year, and it's causing a few more regular season losses than they planned on. They don't have a coach who can control two superstars and another All-Star who thinks he needs to shoot a lot of jumpers. And the combination of these players and this coach are having a hard time dealing with the constant scrutiny and pressure they face as the new villains of the NBA. They need to embrace it, not play the "woe is me" card like Wade did after the Bulls loss.

"Everyone is getting what they want, the Heat are losing games." Wade said. "The world is a better place now that the Heat are losing."

Poor, Dwayne. Use it as motivation and quit feeling sorry for yourself. Miami is still a good team. They're still third in the Eastern Conference. They're 43-20 and can easily go on another run. But the underlying root problems won't allow for a championship this season. It's a work in progress and this is year one of the movement in Miami.

Here's the way I see it playing out for the Heat: They simply have to ride out this year and take all the vitriol that comes with it. They'll get a top seed in the Eastern Conference. Maybe not the one seed but possibly two or three. They'll win one, maybe two playoff series. They don't make the Finals. In the off-season: New roster. Get some bigs that want to do dirty work. Get role players who want to play a role. Riley takes over. They shop Bosh around, hoping for a taker. They'll have a new outlook for the following season and how they are viewed by the public. They embrace their role as the "Hated Heat." They begin their quest for "five, six, seven" championships.

Not everyone is hoping the Heat fail and lose every game but most are. Only the guys in the locker room can do anything about it. And we all know there is only one way to get people off your back and in your corner: Win.